Fallen Embers
by Nghi
Summary: IK With insomnia, Kagome waits patiently for sleep to come to her. When it doesn't look like it, she frustratingly enlists Inuyasha's help to make her restlessness disappear.


                                                                      Fallen Embers

A/N: First off, I was REALLY busy with June, and I'm hoping to pick up my writing again. This one-shot was- I think- designed to "help me" get my "groove" back on. ^_^ Yeah, I have healed over the flame, and yes, I am working on 'Blood-Stained' as we speak. Yes, this will be really… oh, rats, I promised no cussing in my A/N's in front of the audiences…. LOL.

                                                                        Fallen Embers                                                                              By: Nghi 

          The night was awesome out in the woods. With the faint, pale shimmer of miniscule dots engraved to the dark cerulean- almost to the point of light ebony- background, the whole quietness of the stilled forest seemed magically surreal, almost a perfected scene extracted from a fairy tale.

          And across the sky, a glowing orb raced across.

          **Once, as my heart remembers,/All the stars were fallen embers.**

          Her eyes blinked upwards, straining to see the direction the shooting star was heading. After a moment, she stopped trying and settled on just absorbing her surroundings. It really was quite a competitor for Dreamland…. Above the proudly stood trees, a thin line of wavering fuschia began to peek out.

          Next to her, snuggled within the covers of her sleeping bag, a small, fixed hand curled the hem of her white school blouse, and his leg was thrown across her green skirt, almost protectively. Feeling her hand going numb, she gently scooted him away, watching him stir slightly and mumbling incoherent jumbles. She decided to just watch him sleep, since she wanted to try herself. Her hand soon found its way to his fluffy, auburn bangs, all sticking out in the worst way possible.

          **Once, when night seemed forever/I was with you.**

          Soon, the shy ray of fuschia had spread, creating a bold streak of maroon… this signaled as dawn would soon arrive. She didn't need a wristwatch to know this; after months of experience of being rudely awakened from her dozing state by Inuyasha, she had an internal clock built within her, which was very funny because it was always defective in her time.

          She was having another sleepless ten-hour night, so why not make the most of it? Idly, her thoughts wandered from the surroundings to her friends, her traveling companions. Another older girl was sleeping soundly like Shippo, except she was propped upright against a tree. Her slender fingers were tightly latched onto Hiraikotsu, which lay fondly next to her. On the left of her, Kirara was curled into a cute (and deadly) ball, dozing soundly. Her white mane seemed to glisten underneath the fading sky. Kagome's eyes averted to a resting monk, who was quite some distance between both girls. With his staff next to him and only his robes to warm him, the young man seemed to be at rest. Everything looked so… so right for some reason in the wee hours of the morning.

          **Once, in the care of morning/In the air was belonging.**

          Her eyes traveled to one person she had not thought about yet….

          He just sat there, in Indian-style with hands folded across his chest. With the sword firmly clasped under his right arm, he oddly resembled one of those frozen gargoyle statues decorated along many French temples. But she knew it was an act he often played out; truth be told, he never slept… well, she believed he never did.

          She needed to talk to someone… it might lull her to sleep. Crawling quietly out of the sleeping bag and tucking in Shippo for extra warmth, she slowly made her way towards him. "Inuyasha?" she loudly whispered, tugging on his red sleeve in a very violent manner. "Are you awake yet? Wait… of course you are… hey! Open your eyes, please. I want to talk a little bit."

          Slowly, that maroon became a burning crimson melting rapidly, too.

          **Once, when that day was dawning/I was with you.**

          "Sheesh, what is it now?" he grumbled, eyelids snapping open to reveal indignant, angry eyes. "Can't you see I'm trying to preserve whatever energy I have left from today's battle with you for the next one tomorrow?"

          She nodded timidly, suddenly regretting her impulsive actions. She shouldn't drag Inuyasha along with her insomnia… it was really rude, actually. "I just wanted to… well, talk. You know, something that will make me sleep… since I have insomnia again for the third night in a row," explained as best as she could while plopping down exhaustedly next to him. "I'm tired, but I can't sleep, in other words."

          "And by talking to me will help you how…?"

          "With your limited vocabulary… I don't know… I figured you could put me… to sleep… erm, with our dull conversation?" she tentatively asked more than stated after seeing his eyebrow begin to twitch. "Or I could just stay here by your side and enjoy the beauty of nature as it puts me to sleep. There are always alternative choices…."

          "Better answer."

          **How far we are from morning,/How far are we**

          The reddening of the sky delayed further spreading for a moment as it slowly turned into a magnificent dark pink hue. The tip of the trees gave way to frosted green at the top while another mellow but visible color, marigold, began to rise.

          "You should sleep… or you'll be cranky later on and make ME suffer," he said, already frowning at the possible prospect of future punishment. His eyebrow creased downwards, and his mouth pulled into a slight pout.

          "I know… but I can't. It's so beautiful out here," she exclaimed, gray, pale-blue eyes taking in nature's shining moment. It really and truly was a beauty to catch dawn waking to a day….

          As the day started to arise, the stars were still twinkling merrily above the brightening sky. Soon, they would have to disappear for a whole afternoon, with nothing to do except continue with their mission. Kagome still kept her eyes trained at the sky, and she tried to make little shapes with the stars or to identify the constellations.

          "Have you tried closing your eyes?" he asked.

          Nodding confidently, she added, "I've tried counting sheep and numbers, too, but nothing works. Can you please help me sleep?"

          He began to reject the idea, but then thought of his possibilities: Help Kagome into a good night's sleep, and no broken back tomorrow, or ignore her stupid pleas and end up with six different back joints disconnected from his body. 

          Not much of a decision here. Sighing, he shifted to sit up straighter and asked, "OK… what do you want to talk about?"

          **And the stars shining through the darkness,/Falling in the air.**

          She thought about the question for a bit before inquiring, "Where do you think Naraku is?"

          He nearly fell forward into the dirt, almost as if she had said the word in the first place. Quickly regaining his balance, he turned sideways to look at her in the face, incredulous. "What are you babbling about? If I had KNOWN where he was, his baboon suit would've been paraded down the village in honor of his defeat a long, long time ago."

          "Well, I was just asking where you THINK he is," she replied reasonably. Upon finding that it was energy draining to keep her eyes open, she closed it and left them that way.

          "Hmm… I dunno… in his hideout, maybe?"

          "I didn't mean THAT type of answer."

          "I don't have any other answer!"

          She sighed and mumbled, "You can't answer a question, can you?"

          "Yes, I can! I gave you an answer, didn't I?" he argued back half-heartedly. 

          **Once, as the night was leaving/Into us our dreams were weaving.**

          Not feeling the want to argue, she changed to a new topic that was in no relation to the previous one. "What do you think will happen to us in ten years from now?"

          "Now THAT is a stupid question. Where else do you think we'll be? We'll all still be in a group, stupid… including the idiot Miroku and the git."

          "Hmm…?"

          "Shippo."

          There was a brief silence as she contemplated this. "Now that theory right there is funny," she quirked up an end of her lips and opened up her bleary eyes at him. "We're going to piece together this hunt, and everyone will go his/her own ways. Of course, I plan on getting a job by then. What about you?"

          "No, we're not going to finish the jewel. There are over hundreds of them floating mindlessly in Japan right now, and some of them are probably inside a youkai's digestive system or in his stinking' forehead," he argued, surprised at how pessimistic she sounded. "And not to mention the shards are the size of Shippo's hand. At this rate, with three humans, me, and Shippo, we're probably going to find the whole pieces in 15 years, if we're lucky."

          "Yeah, Inuyasha, whatever you say and want to believe," she mumbled, eyes closing again. "I don't think the hunt will last five years, let alone ten years."

          "Feh… shows how much you actually know," he muttered, stubbornly clinging to the belief.

          **Once, all dreams were worth keeping./I was with you.**

          "You know, I'm trying to be realistic here…" she replied drowsily, "Just face it… you aren't going to be here 24/7 to protect us."

          He was a bit perplexed by the term '24/7', but shrugged it off. "I don't have to be there '24/7'. The odds could still be 21/7 or 24/16 or whatever. I don't care what that means right now, but you're being really stupid if you think me or Miroku or Sango or even Shippo are going to disappear one day out of your life."

          The sky above them had now lightened to a pale, pinkish effect, and the orbs were disappearing one by one. The marigold rays had begun to do more than peep, and the green-tinted trees came to life with a few bird chirps. Orange was dominating the cerulean night.

          "That's because it's true…" she slurred, not really hearing what had just popped out of her mouth or what will come out next. "You all know you're going to have to leave me one day… you're in denial, with a big D…."

          "God, woman, I'm going to be there to protect you, talk to you, or whatever crap I'm going to have to go through with you for the next ten years, and so will everyone else here."

          "Right…."

          "It's true, and YOU'RE in denial, with a big D… whatever that means…."

          "Hmm… really…?"

          "Yeah… what else would I do, play girlie games with you?"

          **Once, when our hearts were singing.**

          By this time, she had fallen asleep, half-leaning against the tree behind the two and half-leaning against him.

          Seeing that she was really in dreaming phase, he turned to look out at the sky and smirked. The night had become a pale, sky-blue, and the golden sunshine cast upon them a warm blanket. Yes, he, along with the traveling group, would always look after Kagome….

          But that didn't meant he couldn't have some fun along the way.

          "Oh, look, it's morning, my favorite part of the day," he mumbled to himself, grinning. And with a big breath, "KAGOME!"

          Yelping, she shot up after three seconds of sleep… literally. "What?" she yelled right back, whipping her head around wildly for signs of danger… and only to find a snickering hanyou on the floor, trying his hardest not to cackle in her face.

          **I was with you.**

         And in the distance, a resounding thump hollered throughout the air, a sign of a new day.

                                                          ~*~*~*~

A/N: *dabs eyes* I love the ending…. ^_^ Anyways, I think this counts as I/K interaction, eh? I mean, it was only them talking, and I figured this was how the anime and manga would go…. ^_~ This wasn't TOO bad, was it? Yes, I AM working on 'Blood-Stained' now, so hold onto your seats. ^_^ 

This song is by Enya, and the song is 'Fallen Embers', which is really good. =) I don't own Inuyasha, either. *stamps feet* Pooh… this was the disclaimer. I hope you enjoyed this, because I did! *cackles maniacally* This is ONE-SHOT, by the way.


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